We scouted out Glacier Point the day before a wedding we had in Yosemite; the couple requested that they have photos there before their ceremony and it's obvious why: looking at the view there is actually one of the most breathtaking experiences I've ever had.

From what I remember, the weather was overcast when we arrived and it had been raining sporadically during the drive up. When we got to the overlook, it wasn't too crowded (because of the rain) and we lucked out on our timing because we got there with enough time to survey the area before sunset.

Over the course of minutes, the lighting and weather would change so many times I can't even remember.

Pink (because of the fires) clouds gave way to an unbelievable sunset and double rainbow.

Meanwhile, I kept hearing a high-pitched buzzing. It reminded me of the cicadas in the Philippines. Chris didn't hear anything when I asked him. I looked around and his and everyone else's hair was standing on end... While other people were taking selfies of their crazy hair, Chris had us immediately take cover because he recognized the signs of an imminent lightning strike. I realized the buzzing was coming from the metal on my glasses.

I remember getting within wifi range and this article coming up as one of the top results on google when I was trying to figure out what just happened.

It's weird to look at these photos because the experience was both beautiful and terrifying.

Chris' hair standing up.

Chris mentioned that he had a photo taken of him in this same spot from many years ago when he went to Yosemite with his dad. Note he had no beard, wore a watch, had cool sideburns, and hiked around in sandals.

A ranger showed up eventually and I asked her about the buzzing sound and she sort of looked unnerved and asked me how long ago it happened. When I told her it was just a few minutes before she got there, she calmly but firmly announced to everyone that they all needed to seek shelter as soon as possible and walked everyone down to the geology hut. Chris stayed and so did I. We took cover and walked back to the viewpoint several times before we left, using the intermittent buzzing from my glasses as our signal to take cover as necessary.

These are mint plants that are in a bed of cocoa pod mulch that they mist with sugar water. When I asked the guy why they sprayed the leaves with sugar water, he responded with ".... you want to try spraying them?" It was weird.